Wowza! This Being Well podcast fascinated me. I very much appreciate Rick Hanson’s work (neuropsychology meets Buddhist meditation), and the dynamic between him and his son, Forrest, is endearing and inspiring.

In my work as a Reiki practitioner and teacher, I am consistently reminded of the detrimental effects of shame on our well-being. I see a link between a variety of chronic illnesses and feelings of inadequacy, unworthiness, and feeling oneself to be somehow wrong or unacceptable. Their discussion addresses many issues, including that of failing to live up to standards, perhaps societal or familial, that we haven’t consciously accepted and may even disagree with.

It’s my hope that you will find some relief from the burden of shame and its origins. Shining the light of awareness on it contributes to its immediate diminishment. Perhaps you will find their words as comforting as I did.